Collapsible sportsman&#39;s hut and duck blind



March 5, 1957 c. A. KOHLBECK 2,733,755

COLLAP SIBLE SPORTSMANS HUT ANDDUCK BLIND Filed Jan. 19, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig. 5

Char/es A. Koh/beck IN VEN TOR.

WWW M.

March 5, 1957 c. A. KOHLBECK 2,733,765

COLLAPSIBLE s oa'rs'fim's HUT AND nucx BLIND Filed Jan. 19, 1955 2 Sheets-Shut 2 Fig. 3

Char/es A. Ko/r/beck INVEN TOR.

BY WWW 5M5 COLLAPSIBLE SPORTSMANS HUT AND DUCK BLIND Charles A. Kohlbeck, Stratford, Wis, assignorof'fifteen percent toDonaid C. Ko'hlb'eck, Stratr'ord, Wis. Application January 19, 1955, Serial No. 482,740 4 Claims. (Cl. 135-1 This invention relates generally to collapsible shelters and is more particularly directed to a sportsmans *c'ol-' la'psible shelter which is readily portable, forming acompact and relatively light bundle, self-supporting when erected, durable in construction, relatively easy to "assemble and disassemble and economical to manufacture and'highly eflicientand serviceable in use.

A further object of the invention in conformity with that set forth above, is to provide a collapsible portable shelter suitable as a duck blind, ice fishing windbreak, beach shelter, animal shelter, etc, said shelter b'ein'gselfsupporting when erected and notrequiring the use of additional hold-down stakes, and including parts foldable into a relatively light, compact portable bundle.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequentl apparent reside in the details ofconstruction and operation as more fully her; nafter described and claimed, reference being had 'to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of the portable shelter when erected;

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially on line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view on a reduced scale showing the portable shelter when disassembled into a portable compact package for ready transport;

Figure 4 is an enlarged exploded perspective view showing one of the hanger elements secured to a side frame member, and the relative position of a bracket element which cooperates with said hanger element, the cross brace member to which the bracket element will be attached being shown in phantom;

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Figure 2 and showing the pivotal connection between the cross brace elements; and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary enlarged top plan view of a portion of the shelter as seen looking from line 6-6 of Figure 1.

The portable shelter as indicated generally at 10 and includes diametrically opposed pairs of side frame members 12 and 12' and 14 and 14, respectively. The pairs of side frame members taper upwardly and are secured together by means of an upper holding assembly 16 and a lower cross brace assembly 18, each of which will be subsequently described. Secured to the side support members 12 and 14, which are the nearest to one looking at the front of the shelter as seen in Figure l, is a suitable flexible cover material 20 which may be watertreated canvas, nylon, etc., the covering material being wrapped around both of the rear side supports 12' and 14' to form a three-sided portable shelter. The flexible cover may be secured in any suitable manner, for example, by means of heavy staples, carpet tacks, etc., and terminates below the upper end portions of the side support members providing an opening 22 which will permit the ready passage of smoke thereby in the event a tire is built within the shelter. Although illustrated as a 2,783,766 Palten'te d Mar. 5, 1957 ice shelter having three sides covered, it should be readily apparent that the covering 20 may include suflicient ma- 'te rial"to'fold across the front of the shelter, thus defininga ten twhich would be suitable for campers, etc. The "shelter could then be used as a dressing tent on the beach,

and could be painted various colors depending 'as to whether it is most desirable to deflect the "su'ns rays, absorb them, or readily attract attention during the huntin'g'or fishing season. Suitable pocket elements 24 may "be provided on the inner surface of the covering 20 into which may be placed weapons for hunting, fishing equipment, etc. Suitable windows (not shown) could beprovided "in the various side panels of the covering 20 wherever desired.

As seen in Figures 1 and 3, the lower end-portions of the 'sidesupport members 12, 12, 14 and 14' are provided with "surface penetrating sharpened elements 26 which are secured therein in any suitable manner, and which are 'adapted to penetrate the ground level G for retaining the shelter in a given position. v

'Each of the side frame members include adjacent thetop portion thereof transverse holes 28 through which is threaded a suitable flexible securing element 30, such 'as-rop'e secured by means of a square knot 32. ,Asf'is clearly seen "from Figure 6, the diametrically opposed side support members 12 and 12 include at their upper portions juxtaposed flat engaging surfaces forming the :line of juncture indicated by reference character 34, and the diametrically opposed side support members '14 and 14' include relatively transverse angularl'y cfit end porr't'i'ons which abut the line of juncture '34 as seen at 36 'ithus' ai'ding to preserve the rigidity and stability :of the portable shelter.

including a lower lateral flange portion 42 having therein a suitable slotted portion 44, as most clearly seen in Figure 4, for accommodating bracket elements to be subsequently described. The lower cross brace assembly further includes a pair of mutually pivoted cross brace elements 46 and 48 which are pivotally connected together as shown in Figure 5 by means of a rivet 50, for example, the pivotal connection of said cross brace elements assuming the configuration disclosed in Figure 2 when bracket elements 52 included on the lower surface of the end portion thereof are received in the slots 44 of the hanger element 42 by means of downwardly projecting flanges 54 of the bracket elements 52. The bracket elements 52 are secured in any suitable manner to the lower surface of the cross brace elements 46 and 48 by means of the apertures 56 contained therein. Secured to the upper surface of cross brace element 46 by means of suitable fasteners 58 is a seat 60.

The portable shelter is normally transported in the condition disclosed in Figure 3, wherein the flexible outer surface 20 includes a suitably located detachable fastener 62, of any suitable character, for securing the portable shelter in a compact bundle. After reaching the location for erection of the portable shelter, the detachable fastener 62 is unfastened, the lower cross brace assembly 18 is pivoted so that the bracket elements 52 and their flanges 54 will be accommodated in the slots 44 of the flange 42 of the hanger elements 38, the flexible cord 30 having been left in its securing position, and after the pointed ends 26 of the side support members have penetrated the ground surface, the portable shelter is ready for use. The disassembly is relatively simple wherein the lower cross brace support assembly is removed from the hanger elements 38, the relatively pivotal elements 46 and 48 are juxtaposed one upon the other to assume the configuration disclosed in Figure 3, and the loose portion of the outer covering 20 is wrapped around all of the aforementioned structure in the manner disclosed in Figure 3 with the detachable fastener 62 being secured to form the portable compact shelter.

Although the material utilized for the lower cross brace assembly side support members are shown to be wood, it is readily apparent that suitable metal, such as aluminum, or suitable plastics might be utilized to form such elements.

Thus it is quite evident that there has been disclosed a novel portable shelter in conformance with the objects heretofore set forth, which is self-supporting and requires no external stakes and tie-down ropes.

Various positional directional terms such as front, rear, etc., are intended herein to have only a relative connotation to aid in describing the device and are not intended to be interpreted as requiring any particular orientation with respect to any external elements.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to beunnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

l. A portable shelter including pairs of diametrically opposed side support members, each of the side support members adapted to extend upwardly toward each other,

an upper end portion of each of the pairs of the support members being secured by flexible holding means, a flexible outer covering secured on the support members, each of the support members including a hanger element secured thereon, and a lower cross brace assembly including a pair of mutually pivoted cross brace elements, each of the cross brace elements including on their ends bracket elements, the bracket elements on the ends of a cross brace element being mutually securable to respectively opposed pairs of diametrically opposed hanger elements, the diametrically opposed pairs of side support members including a first pair engageable with each other in substantially flush abutting engagement at their upper end portions, the other pair of which including oppositely opposed angular portions engageable to contact the abutting portions of the first mentioned pair of side support members.

2. A portable shelter as set forth in claim 1 wherein each of said hanger elements includes a laterally extending flange portion including an opening therein, and each of said bracket elements includes downwardly extending flange portion adapted to be inserted into an opening in the lateral flange of a hanger element.

3. A portable shelter as set forth in claim 2 wherein one of the mutually pivoted cross brace elements includes a seat secured thereon.

4. A portable shelter as set forth in claim 3 wherein said side support members include ground penetrating elements secured on the lower ends thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 34,258 Lynch Jan. 28, 1862 1,415,482 Reed May 9, 1922 1,862,425 Pooch June 7, 1932 

